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...much stronger on the ground than the government and is certain to win any confrontation. Still, Hizballah would have much to lose in an open civil war. Not only would the chaos distract the group from the far more dangerous struggle with Israel, but it could also help radical al-Qaeda-affiliated Sunni jihadi groups infiltrate Lebanon. Tellingly, Hizballah regulars have so far stayed out of the fighting, leaving the wet work to street gangs and a few regular fighters belonging to the Amal movement, an allied Shi'a opposition party...
More than 1,010 have died in Sadr City since fighting erupted at the end of March, according to Iraqi government figures offered by al-Sheikhly. Another 2,930 have been wounded, he said. Ongoing fighting continues to worsen the crisis in the vast Shi'ite slum, the Baghdad stronghold of the Shi'ite Mahdi Army militia. Mohammed Kamel Hassan, a volunteer organizer in Sadr City for the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, said up to 500 families have already been displaced from areas around the fighting in recent days. "We have a big movement," said Hassan, whose organization is working...
...estimates say that up to 6,000 people have already fled their homes in Sadr City while another 150,000 remain essentially trapped in areas locked down by military forces. Al-Sheikhly and Hassan said at present no evacuation of any part of Sadr City is underway. But residents in areas of heavy fighting said Iraqi army troops were urging civilians to move to the shelter of nearby stadiums with announcements over loudspeakers...
...Iraqi troops may go into Sadr City as part of a new push. But any significant thrust by U.S. and Iraqi troops into the densely populated area is likely to bring intense resistance from guerrilla fighters of the Mahdi Army, which is loyal to Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr...
...siege of Sadr City, now more than a month old, represents a significant shift politically for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had aligned himself with the Sadrists for a time. But since March, Maliki has kept up attacks on Sadr's militiamen in Baghdad and southern Iraq. Early setbacks such as Iraq army defections and battlefield defeats in Basra have so far not seemed to dim Maliki's determination to continue the fight. With reporting by Mazin Ezzat